Nucleic Acid Technology (NAT), introduced in the late 90s, is a molecular amplification
method that can be used for the diagnosis and management of patients with infectious
diseases. NAT test results are obtained quicker and are quantified, providing great.er information
than the positive/negative results available from traditional techniques. However,
NATs arc technically demanding, susceptible to contamination and hence results from associated
diagnostic tests may be inaccurate. External Quality Assessment (EQA) services
are programmes developed to assess and advance the quality performance of laboratories
that use NAT kits to diagnose, manage and control human diseases. Quality Control for
Molecular Diagnostics (QCMD) , an organisation that provides EQA, uses proficiency panels
designed with samples containing no , weak, medium and strong microbial loads. The panels
are distributed to participating laboratories who analyse them knowing the pathogen but
blind to the microbial load.